Bar shear apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for shearing steel bar stock and the like including improved means for removably mounting a cutter block member to a power ram and means for controlling the stroke of the ram through use of an electrical timing device.

United States Patent [50] Field ol'Search 83/372, 639. 524. 390: 91/461. 426. 38. 527

Primary Examiner-Andrew R. J uhasz Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Attorney-Gary, Parker, .luettner, Pigott & Cullinan ABSTRACT: Apparatus for shearing steel bar stock and the like including improved means for removably mounting a cutter block member to a power ram and means for controlling the stroke of the ram through use of an electrical timing device.

Inventor Thomas J. MacDonald Elmhurst, Ill. Appl. No. 755,256 Filed Aug. 26, 1968 Patented Jan. 5, 1971 Assignee Am Forge, Inc.

Chicago, Ill. 1 a corporation of Illinois BAR SHEAR APPARATUS 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 83/372, 83/524. 83/527. 83/639, 83/ l 98: 9 1 I38. 91/426. 91/461 Int. Cl 826d 5/38, 826d 5/08, 826d 1/10 4 lllllllllllll:

PATENTEU JAN SIB?! 3552.253

sum 2 or 3 PATENTED JAN 5 SHEET 3 OF 3 1 .BAR SHEAR APPARA US BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Machines for shearing bar stock commonly comprise a pair of shear or cutter blocks one of which ismounted in a stationary manner and the other of which is movable by means of a hydraulically actuated ram. Each of the two shear blocks is provided with an opening to receive a length of bar stock to be sheared. The two shear blocks are initially positioned with their openings in alignment with one another, and bar stock to be sheared is positioned so as to project therethrough. Subsequent movement of one of the'two cutter blocks through a predetermined strokeby means of the power ram will then effect shearing of the bar stock. 1 i

It will be understood that the optimum stroke of the hydraulically operated'ram and the movable shear block is dependent upon the diameter of the bar stock to be sheared. Generally speaking, the desired stroke of the movable shear block is approximately equal to one-third the diameter of the bar stock to be sheared. If the stroke of the movable shear block too short, then a complete shear of the bar stock material maylnot be effected. On the other hand, if the stroke is set for too great a distance, it will of course shear the bar stock but it will also often cause undesirable deformation of the bar stock. Accordingly, it is important to provide bar shear apparatus having means which readily permits accurate adjustment of the stroke of the power ram member.

Heretofore, it has been common to provide various types of plunger members which are physically engaged by the ram or move with the ram and in turn actuate a limit switch for the purpose of controlling the power stroke of the ram. Such devices can be adjusted by changing the position of the limit switch. However, this is a rather inconvenient procedure.

Another operation which must be carried out when preparing the bar shear apparatus for use with a particular size of bar stock is to mount shear blocks having the proper size opening therein on the apparatus, with one such shear block being mounted for movement by a hydraulically actuated ram through a power stroke. It has been common heretofore to bolt the movable shear blocks directly to the ram, but when this procedure is followed it becomes a difficult and time-consuming task to change the shear blocks when a different size of bar stock material is to be sheared.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide improved bar shearing apparatus which overcomes the disadvantages of known devices as described above.

A more specific object of the present inventionis to provide an improved means for accurately controlling the stroke of the power ram component of bar shear apparatus through use of electrical timing means which is readily adjustable for any desired time.

Still another of my objects is to provide bar shear apparatus DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an elevational view of a bar shear machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along'the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagramof the hydraulic cir c ui tif or the present invention; and r FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram.

acquaint those skilled in the art with the pump motor housing representedat lg, and anelectrigalen- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THEINVENTION Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a complete ,bar shear unit comprising barshear apparatus 10, a. pump and position as shown in FIG. in face-to-face relatibn with the shear block 20. In a similar manner, a pair of tipper andlower ppera'nd lower retainer bars 32 and 34 are bolted to the mounting blocks 2d and 30 and engage aginst the outside face of the shear block 20 at the uppe'f and lower edges thereof to retain the latter inthe upright position shown.

. It will.be =se en that the shear block 18 includes a hardened insert 36 having a central bore 38 formed therein having a beveled outer portion 40. Similarly, the corresponding shear block 20 includes a hardened insert 42 having a bore 44 formed therein with a beveled outer portion 46. Bar stock to be sheared is shown in dash lines at S, and it willbe seen that the length of bar stock S is pass'ed'through the aligned openings 38, and 44. In order to effect a'she'aring operation the shearblpcit '20 is moved horizontally transverse to the bar stock 'S while'the shear ,block member l 8 remains stationary. Movement of the shear block 210' is accomplished by meansof a-hydraulically actuated ram 48 which moves in acylinder 50 as shown in power stroke of the rain481isito the left as viewed in FIG. I and it'willbe seen from'FIG': that the opposite shear block 18 is spaced sufficiently from the end of .the ram so that it is not engaged by the ram duringth e' stroke of the latter. Thus, as 'the ram' 4 r noves out of the cylinder 50, it pushes on the rear end of the' 'she arblock'20 so as 'to force the-latter through a predetermined st rloke, thereby effecting shearing of the bar stock S. f i i The shear block 20 has a transverse groove 52 (see'Fl'G. 3) formed in its outer face near the rear end thereof. If desired, the groove 52 may extend for'the full width of the shear block member. A retainer member 54 is bolted to the forward end of the ram 48 and is formed with a key or tongue 56 which projects radially inwardly into the groove 52. Because the rain 48 directly abuts the rear end of the shear block 20, the ram when moving on its forward power stroke pushes the rear of the block 20 without any appreciable force being transmitted through the retainer 54. However, it will be noted that during the return stroke of the ram 48 the retainer 54 will act through the key 56 and groove 52 and cause the ram to pull the shear block 20 back to its original position.

With reference to the foregoing, it is important'to note that when it is desired to change the shearfblocks l8 and 20 to another set of a different size in "order to s hear bar stock material ofa different diameterfit is a relatively simple matter to make such a change. The retainen'plat'es 24 and 28 are removed from the mounting blocks 26 and 30, and the stationary block 18 may then be removed. Thereafter, the movable shear block 20 may be released by siinply inoving the same a short distance away from the retainer 54 so as totseparate the key 56 from the groove 52. The shear block 20 Fnay'then be removed without disconnecting the retainer'54 from the erid oft'he ram 48 and without disconnecting tit e retainer bars 32 an'd'34. A newshear 'block 20 may t'hen be inserted in operative position with the key projecting into the groovel52; a new stati pnary shear block 18 is then positioned inface-toface relatiop with the shear block 201 and-the retainer bars 24 and 28 may thenbe replaced. With'the' foregoing arrangement, it is possible to replace a set of theshearblocks in only a small fraction of the time which is required where the movable shear block member is bolted to the end of the ram member.

Reference is now made to FIG, 4 which shows the hydraulic circuit for the bar shear apparatus of the present invention.

"There is shown a pump motor 60, and a pump 62, the latter Tom the pump 62 is conducted through the line 64 through a two-position hydraulically controlled valve 72 to. the right hand side of the cylinder 50 thereby urging the ram piston 48' and ram to the left ortoits retracted position. A relief valve 74 is connected withthe line .64 immediately before the latter communicates with the right hand side of the cylinder 50. The relief valve" is:set for a suitable pressure .such as- 400 p.s.i. thereby regulating the pressure WhlChlS applied to return the ram .48 and maintain the same in its retracted position. A line 76 extends from the relief valve 74 to a junction 78 at which location the line is connected with a relief ,valve 80 which is set fora suitable reduced pressure suchas .100 p.s.i. The relief valve 80 leads toa heat exchanger 82 which cools the oil,and' a line 84 leads from the heat exchanger to a reservoir 86. From the junction 78, a line connects with a pilot line. 90 which leads througha solenoid valve 92 and then through a line 94 to a hydraulic valve control member 96,. It will thus be seen that oil at a pressure of 100 p.s.i. issupplied to the hydraulic member 96 and the, latter in turn maintains the hydraulically controlled valve 72 in its left-hand or idling positionasshown in FIG. 4,- v

A spring 98is shown for biasing the solenoid valve 92 to its left-hand position, and there is provided a solenoid 100 which when energized will move the valve 92 to its opposite righthand position. When the valve 92 is thus moved to its right- FIG. 4 his normal idling hand position, it will bcunderstood that oil at a pressure of 7 I00 p.s.i. in the pilot line 90 will be directed by the valve 92 to a line 102 which leads to a hydraulic valve control member 104, and the valve 72 will thereby be shifted to its rightihand position. Consequently, the oil at 3000 psi. delivered to the line 64 fromthe pump 62 will now'be conducted through the valve 72rto a line 106 which leads to the left side of the cylinder 50. Thus, the piston 48 and ram 48 will be moved to 100 is subsequently deenergized,the valve 92 and the valve 72 will be returned to their idling positions and oil at the reduced pressure of 400 p.s.i.wil| again be supplied to the right side of i the right asviewed'in FIG. 4 through apower'stroke so as to effect a shearing operation..Furthermore, when the solenoid the cylinder to stop the power stroke of the ram 48 and return the same to its retracted position.

I will 'now describe the electrical means for controlling the energization of the solenoid 100, and for this purpose reference is made to the schematic wiring diagram of FIG. 5..

There is shown a power supply 108 connected through lines 110, 112 and 114 .to-the pump motor, and a transformer 11 is provided to, step down the voltage to 110 volts. The'pon tion of the electrical circuit enclosed within the dash outline 118 is essentially a starter for the pump motor 60. There is further provided a push button start switch 120, a limit switch 122, and a relay 124. The push button switch 120 permits manual starting of a shear cycle at-any desired time. The limit switch 122 on the other hand is adapted to be positioned for engagement by'the end of a length of barstock S when the latter has been passed'through the shear blocks 18 and 20 and is in a position to be sheared. Thus, when the bar stock S is in position to be sheared it trips the limit switch 122 and automatically initiates a shearingcycle.

When either the push button switch 120 or the limit switch 122 is closed, current is supplied to the relay 124 which closes a contact 1241: thereby providing a holding'circuit through a line 126 to the relay 124 so that'the latter will remain energized even though both switches 120 and 122 are subsequently opened. Energization of the relay 124 also closes a contact 124a thus initiating operation of a timer 128. it is also important to note that when a circuit is completed through the contact 124b, current will be supplied to the solenoid to energize the latter, and as described hereinabove, energization of the solenoid 100 initiates movement of the ram 48 through its power stroke for purposes of a shearing operation.

it will be understood from the foregoing that as long as the solenoid 100 is energized the ram 48 will move outwardly through a. power stroke. The timer 128 is set for a predetermined amount of time, and when that time runs out a timer relay 130 opens a contact 130s thereby opening the circuit and deenergizing the solenoid 100. Consequently, when the timer 128 runs out of time, the ram 48 stops its forward movement and begins toreturn to its retracted position. A potentiometer 132 is connected with the timer 128 for setting the desired amount of time into the timer. In accordance with the present invention, it is preferred to locate the potentiometer 132 remote from the timerhousing so that the potentiometer and also the push button start switch may be located at a position most accessible for use by an operator of the bar shear apparatus.

' Byway of example of a preferred embodiment, and without intending in any way to limit the present invention, the pump 62 has a capacity of 27 gallons per minute rated on the basis of 1800 r.p.m. The cylinder 50 is 14 inches in diameter, and thus pump capacity may be expressed at 6250 cubic inches per inches in diameter, and it were desired to provide a stroke of 1.5 inches for the ram 48, the timer l28-would be set for 2.43 seconds. In other words, the stroke of the ram 48 may be accurately controlled simply by setting the dial of the potentiometer 132, thereby putting a predetermined amount of time into the timer 128. Such control of the stroke of the ram 48 is a great deal easier to adjust than where it is necessary to vary the position ofa limit switch or the like, and it will of course be obvious that if desired the dial on the potentiometer 132 may vbe calibrated directly in inches of stroke.

While 1 have described my invention in certain preferred forms, I do not intend to be limited to such forms, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since modifications coming within the scopeof my invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, particularly with my disclosure before them.

lclaim: r

l. lnbar apparatus for shearing metal bar stock and the like, said apparatus including a hydraulically actuated pistoncylinder assembly for driving a power ram member through a predetermined shearing stroke, the improvement comprising, in combination, pump means for supplying oil under pressure to said cylinderfor moving said power ram in a predetermined direction, said oil being supplied to a first end of said cylinder to move said power ram through a shearing stroke and being supplied to a second end of said cylinder toreturn said power ram to its idling position, valvemeans between said pump means and said cylinder for directing said oil to a selected one of said. cylinder ends, timing means, means for initiating operation of said timing means at the beginning of a shearing stroke, and valve control means responsive to said timing means for controlling said valve' means, said valve means being moved to a first position to initiate movement of said power ram through a shearing stroke and said timing means being operative after a'preselected time to actuate said valve control means and cause movement of said valve means to a second position thereby effecting a reversal of the movement of said power ram after movement of the latter through a predetermined shearing stroke.

2. The invention of claim 1 where said valve control means means serving to effect deenergization of said solenoid means a preselected time after the beginning of said shearing stroke.

3. The invention of claim 1 where said timing means includes a potentiometer for setting said preselected time, the setting of said potentiometer thereby determining the length of said shearing stroke.

4. The invention of claim 2 including an electrical start switch, said start switch serving to effect energization of said solenoid while simultaneously initiating the operation of said timing means,

5. The invention of claim 1 where said valve means comprises a two-position hydraulically controlled valve, and said valve control means including second valve means for directing a portion of said oil to a selected side of said hydraulically controlled valve to control the position thereof.

6. The invention of claim 5 where said valve control means further includes solenoid means, said solenoid means being energized upon the beginning of a shearing stroke, and said timing means serving to effect deenergization of said solenoid means a preselected time after the beginning of said shearing stroke, said solenoid means being connected with said second valve means for controlling the position of the latter.

7. ln bar shear apparatus for shearing metal bar stock and the like, said apparatus including a hydraulically actuated piston-cylinder assembly for driving a power ram member through a predetermined shearing stroke, the improvement comprising, in combination, pump means for supplying oil under pressure to said cylinder for moving said power ram in a predetermined direction, said oil being supplied to a first end of said cylinder to move said power ram through a shearing stroke and being supplied to a second end of said cylinder to return said power ram to its idling position, first valve means comprising a two-position hydraulically controlled valve between said pump means and said cylinder for directing said oil to a selected one of said cylinder ends, second valve means for directing a portion of said oil to a selected side of said first valve means to control the position thereof, solenoid means connected to said second valve means to control the position of the latter, timing means, an electrical start switch for effecting energization of said solenoid means while simultaneously initiating the operation of said timing means, said solenoid means thus being energized upon the beginning of a shearing stroke and said timing means serving to effect deenergization of said solenoid means a preselected time after the beginning of said shearing stroke, said first valve means thus being moved to a first position to initiate movement of said power ram through a shearing stroke and said timing means being 1 operative after a preselected time to deenergize said solenoid 

1. In bar apparatus for shearing metal bar stock and the like, said apparatus including a hydraulically actuated piston-cylinder assembly for driving a power ram member through a predetermined shearing stroke, the improvement comprising, in combination, pump means for supplying oil under pressure to said cylinder for moving said power ram in a predetermined direction, said oil being supplied to a first end of said cylinder to move said power ram through a shearing stroke and being supplied to a second end of said cylinder to return said power ram to its idling position, valve means between said pump means and said cylinder for directing said oil to a selected one of said cylinder ends, timing means, means for initiating operation of said timing means at the beginning of a shearing stroke, and valve control means responsive to said timing means for controlling said valve means, said valve means being moved to a first position to initiate movement of said power ram through a shearing stroke and said timing means being operative after a preselected time to actuate said valve control means and cause movement of said valve means to a second position thereby effecting a reversal of the movement of said power ram after movement of the latter through a predetermined shearing stroke.
 2. The invention of claim 1 where said valve control means includes solenoid means, said solenoid means being energized upon the beginning of a shearing stroke, and said timing means serving to effect deenergization of said solenoid means a preselected time after the beginning of said shearing stroke.
 3. The invention of claim 1 where said timing means includes a potentiometer for setting said preselected time, the setting of said potentiometer thereby determining the length of said shearing stroke.
 4. The invention of claim 2 including an electrical start switch, said start switch serving to effect energization of said solenoid while simultaneously initiating the operation of said timing means.
 5. The invention of claim 1 where said valve means comprises a two-position hydraulically controlled valve, and said valve control means including second valve means for directing a portion of said oil to a selected side of said hydraulically controlled valve to control the position thereof.
 6. The invention of claim 5 where said valve control means further includes solenoid means, said solenoid means being energized upon the beginning of a shearing stroke, and said timing means serving to effect deenergization of said solenoid means a preselected time after the beginning of said shearing stroke, said solenoid means being connected with said second valve means for controlling the position of the latter.
 7. In bar shear apparatus for shearing metal bar stock and the like, said apparatus including a hydraulically actuated piston-cylinder assembly for driving a power ram member through a predetermined shearing stroke, the improvement comprising, in combination, pump means for supplying oil under pressure to said cylinder for moving said power ram in a predetermined direction, said oil being supplied to a first end of said cylinder to move said power ram through a shearing stroke and being supplied to a second end of said cylinder to return said power ram to its idling position, first valve means comprising a two-position hydraulically controlled valve between said pump means and said cylinder for directing said oil to a selected one of said cylinder ends, second valve means for directing a portion of said oil to a selected side of said first valve means to control the posItion thereof, solenoid means connected to said second valve means to control the position of the latter, timing means, an electrical start switch for effecting energization of said solenoid means while simultaneously initiating the operation of said timing means, said solenoid means thus being energized upon the beginning of a shearing stroke and said timing means serving to effect deenergization of said solenoid means a preselected time after the beginning of said shearing stroke, said first valve means thus being moved to a first position to initiate movement of said power ram through a shearing stroke and said timing means being operative after a preselected time to deenergize said solenoid means and effect movement of said first valve means to a second position thereby causing a reversal of the movement of said power ram after movement of the latter through a predetermined shearing stroke. 